Soap dispensers that are motion activated are well known. Such dispensers advantageously reduce the spread of germs and disease by not requiring any contact with the dispensers. Automated soap dispensers typically have large amounts of fluid that flows freely. The mechanisms of such dispensers retain a residual amount of soap, which is acceptable given the large reservoir size. Soap is left in the container. Soap also typically contacts the dispensing mechanism outside the container.
Motion activated dispensing could be advantageously used for other fluids such as personal lubricants or other substances dispensed in medical applications. In particular, the lack of contamination may be ideal. However, the dispensing of other fluids may not effectively be performed using existing soap dispensing mechanisms inasmuch as residual fluid left in the dispenser may be messy, non-hygienic, or result in unacceptable waste.
Furthermore, many soap dispensers use an electric motor to perform the mechanical work required to dispense the soap. The electric motor converts an electric potential supplied by a power source, such as a wall outlet or battery, into mechanical work. Most electric motors include a conductive path that includes numerous coils. In order to convert the electric potential to mechanical work, electric current must flow through the conductive coils. However, environmental conditions such as moisture, dirt, and vibration may affect the flow of current through the coils, and compromise the motor's performance.
Motors may fail completely if too much current is supplied to the coils. For instance, an electrical short between adjacent coils may reduce the resistance of the conductive path and significantly increase the current flowing through the coils. The increased current may provide significant heat and result in damaged the coils, causing a motor “burn out.” Such motors often require complete replacement of at least the coils.
Additionally, many motors, such as stepper motors provide quantized amounts of mechanical work, resulting in discreet amounts of translational motion. Such motors cannot provide translational motion of a continuous nature or for an arbitrary amount of translation. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to use a more reliable source to provide the mechanical work required to operate a fluid dispenser. The systems and methods disclosed herein provide an improved dispensing mechanism that can be used for personal lubricants or other viscous fluids.